Happy St. Patrick's Day

Ballymoon Castle Ruins, County Carlow

Ballycarbery Castle, Ring of Kerry

Torc Waterfall - Killarney National Park

St. Canice's Cathedral - Kilkenny 

Irish Dreams

Happy Saint Patrick's Day and the coming of Spring!

Marching in the Green

It is March - Finally. And now we can commence celebrating the great land of Ireland, its patron saint, Patrick, and the return of spring. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Detailed shamrock carving at Jerpoint Abbey, Ireland

Ireland in a fog

Stairs leading to monastic ruins on Skellig Michael, Ireland

Giveaway winners are: bridgethat19, ichabod2003, and crbfilipiak. Please email me at emeraldpostoffice@gmail.com

An Irish Giveaway

Join the Emerald Post Herald E-mail Newsletter HERE to automatically be entered into this St. Patrick's Day Giveaway. Winners will be chosen randomly and announced Saturday March 17th. If you are a winner you'll also be contacted by email to provide a mailing address. Good Luck!

Ireland on my Mind

Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland

Just a little over a month until St. Patrick's Day, a holiday celebrated in myriad ways. For me it is a time when my affection for Ireland is effervescent, bubbling over so that I may share it with others. The dawn of spring and the arrival of St. Patrick's Day always have me longing to hop a plane, or at least look back at photos, thumb through old travel journals, reminisce about all the amazing journeys I've had on the Emerald Isle. I feel my tiny Irish roots pulsing with pride. Plus, a proper celebration needs some planning so the Chieftains are on my radio, and Ireland is on my mind. In the coming days I'll share some of the ways I celebrate Ireland and ways I indulge my slight obsession. 

Oliver St. John Gogarty's Pub in Temple Bar, Dublin in the early morning. Note the lack of people and the stack of kegs, this is when the empty ones are exchanged for full ones. 

St. Brigid's Day Sale !

Happy St. Brigid's Day, or Imbolc, an ancient festival day of the Celtic Year, marking a return to the light half of the year, a tipping toward spring and the return of green. It is now that my spirit really longs for spring and the comfort of green and sunshine, when I dream of Ireland and the those rolling green hills and begin to anticipate the festivities of St. Patrick's Day. Read more about Imbolc and the origins of Groundhog day HERE in my post from last year. And if you are also planning your St. Patrick's Day celebrations - EVERYTHING in the Emerald Post Shop is on sale 30-40% off and all orders come with a free postcard! Great items for St. Paddy's Day gifts & décor - On sale now till Monday. Hop on over HERE.

March Emerald Post

Well, I hope your spring is off to a colorful start and surely the predominant color of spring is green. Ireland and its awe-inspiring shades of green were the fertile seeds that grew into the March issue of Emerald Post, for March is the month we celebrate not only St. Patrick but Irish culture in general (albeit sometimes in ways that are inaccurate or misguided). Besides an annual St. Patrick's fest, I celebrate Ireland and spring by bringing fresh flowers inside, taking hot cups of tea outside, revisiting Irish films, books, and of course music, and cooking up my favorite Irish meals. 

The March Issue was a lot of fun to create and curate. To honor the Emerald Isle, I included a large print of a hand-painted watercolor map of Ireland.  

Also included in the March issue: a lovely postcard print of a gothic green doorway at St. Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny (which can still be obtained with 7 other postcards in the Portal Collection), a cute miniature notecard and envelope featuring a lucky 4-leaf clover, and a 5x7 print of my favorite - 40 Shades of Green Butterfly which mimics stained glass. The Butterfly print is available individually HERE. It's time now to go outside and enjoy Spring's bounty and gather inspiration for April's issue which is fast approaching.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May you always have

walls for the wind,

a roof for the rain,

tea beside the fire,

laughter to cheer you,

those you love near you

and all your heart might desire 

-Irish Blessing

Seafood Chowder at Inch Beach

I love to cook up hearty Irish dishes, especially in March but my all time favorite is Seafood Chowder. Now this isn't like your Clam Chowder. This is much more akin to heaven. The first time I ever had this food of the sea gods was on a cold, gray day in Sammy's Bar on Inch Beach on the Dingle Penninsula. Perhaps it was the wild waves just outside the window, the freshness of the fish, or perhaps is was the dreary weather and jet lag but I have held this dish in the highest esteem ever since. My main brag about it is that it contained so much seafood and so little potatoes (a flip flop of what I know in MO). I now look for this on every menu when we're in Ireland and I've had some other delicious variations but Inch Beach Seafood Chowder is at the top of the list.

When I'm at home, however, I love making a huge pot of this. Surprisingly, even with some frozen fish, this is incredible. I use Kevin Dundon's recipe of fish chowder as a spring board but alter it for American groceries:

- I usually add more onion and skip the leek

- Swap water or chicken stock for fish stock - both work fine

- Peeled shrimp instead of Dublin Bay Prawns

- heavy whipping cream for pouring cream, maybe a bit richer :)

- I've always omitted tarragon and smoked salmon because I didn't have any and $$

- Use any fish you like really, I usually use salmon and cod and mussels if I have any

The Esteemed Seafood Chowder and Bulmers

Sammy's Bar Restaurant and Café at Inch Beach

It is an pretty quick and easy, if not a little pricey, recipe and actually is a great leftover (that surprised me) Make a loaf of brown bread with it, spread some Kerry Gold Butter, crack open a Guinness and start the daydream!

Virtually Visit Ireland

Understandably not everyone can travel to the Celtic Isles and traipse around castle ruins. Even for those of us that have, it is always nice to revisit a place in spirit when we cannot in body. Thankfully to satisfy our appetites for the ancient, the crumbly, the stoic, and the arching magnificence that is a castle ruin - we can visit them on the web. Sometimes we stumble upon great interesting videos. Here are some of my favorites for you to watch as we near St. Patrick's Day:

*Click Full Screen on Videos to really enjoy !

Dundrum Castle is in County Down, Northern Ireland. We visited there in 2015. I was thrilled when I found this Time Team (an awesome long running BBC Archeology Show - any episode from Time Team is fascinating and so many are on YouTube) episode of an archeological dig at Dundrum Castle

Dundrum Castle

Now Dunluce Castle is near and dear to me. It is how I stumbled upon my Irish ancestry and my far off Irish ancestors, the MacQuillans, laid the first stones here on the cliffs of Antrim.

MacQuillan Towers of Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Ireland

Looking out to sea from the Mermaid's Cave beneath Dunluce

The Connolly Cove Channel on YouTube is full of awesome short videos from all over Ireland. Below is one that introduces us to some basic history of Dunluce (for more in depth info I like the book Dunluce Castle by Colin Breen). There is also some incredible scenic drone footage of Dunluce below that includes a seaside look at the mermaid's cave:

Don't forget I have many Irish travel post over at Traveling Chariot which you can access HERE

Irish Post

It's not too late to get your extra-Irish March Emerald Post. This edition features all the shades of green that make up the Emerald Isle in the form of a watercolor print, photo postcard, mini notecard, and large watercolor print map. Use the coupon code IRELAND10 to get 10% off anything in the Emerald Post Shop by March 31st.

Celtic Portal Collection

Always, I've been drawn to doorways, to portals, tunnels to other times. They are physically beautiful, metaphorically powerful, and always evocative, beckoning. There are so many exquisite doorways in the Celtic lands of Ireland & Scotland. They generously pepper my travel photos. I've collected 8 (this was a challenge) of my favorites to offer as Emerald Post's first collection. Go ahead, turn the handle, pass through. Wonders surely await .

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, you can get your hands on the Celtic Portal Collection of 4x6 photo Postcards. The stunning postcards transport you to lands & times faraway, to crumbling castle ruins, to ivy-clad cathedrals, to enchanted forests. Hop over the Emerald Post Shop to get your collection now or send a set for a charming, unique gift!

Eight high gloss, color rich, 4x6 Photo Postcards

Backsides printed for Postcard use, complete with Emerald Post Postmark.

Set is bound with unique Portal Collection Band and send in the standard green, hand addressed envelope to you.